I Can't Do The Math; My Calculator's Broken
Posted: Thursday, May 28, 2009
by David Pekrul
While I sit here at my computer, I figure I should share a couple more poems about technology and our slavery to it. I think back to all the technology we didn't have growing up and I feel so old. The other day I was talking to my neighbour's daughter and she was wondering how we got along without calculators. "How did you do math in school without a calculator?" "We figured it out in our heads." "REALLY??????"
A World Of Machines
A world of machines is where we live;
Its such a tragedy.
The human touch is all but gone,
Like ancient history.
Voice mail, computers and fax machines,
E-mail and web sites galore,
If we should survive a thousand more years,
There's bound to be very much more.
I want to talk to a person,
Someone who knows what I need,
I'm tired of listening to menus,
Just answer the telephone please.
It's time we got back to basics,
Where people are really in tune.
A cold metal box will not be enough
To fulfill our need to commune.
Simulation, Stimulation
Simulation, Stimulation,
Living in our minds,
It helps us to enjoy ourselves;
It helps us to unwind.
No matter that it isn't real,
And that we have been tricked,
It truly seems that it's to be
The life that most have picked.
We grew up playing Pac Man;
Before that it was Pong,
And then when we grew tired of them,
Along came Donkey Kong.
Simulation, Stimulation,
Everywhere we look,
We try to live without it, but
We find that we are hooked.
We think that we should take a hike,
Or walk down by the sea,
Instead we'd rather stay at home
And watch it on TV.
Let's hope we soon grow sick and tired,
Of looking at the 'tube',
But maybe it just took this time
To get us in the mood,
To get ourselves up off the couch;
Go see the world around us,
And when we do, I know that it
Will awe; inspire; astound us.
If this article is used in any publication, please send a copy of the publication to David Pekrul at
E-Mail:dpekrul@gmail.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I love poetry! All poetry, no matter what the subject is my passion is ignited by poetic words. Literature, wow! It takes me back to my many years of study of great poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browming and Robert Burns. Bless you!Thank you for your very kind comments, Jena. I love to write poetry and love it even more when someone likes to read it. I hope you find many of my poems to your delight.David
Oh my! Guilty as charged. My calculator is my best friend, I use it all day at work to do my accounting job, but seriously, the other day,I actually used it to add 12 + 10. It came so natural.Great poems D!Now that is toooo funny!! 12+10? Yes, I think the machines have just taken over. :-)I was pretty disgusted with my self. What if I accidentally punched in 12 + 12, would I have known that 12 + 10 is not 24? I don't have that many fingers! hahahaI think I am just as bad when it comes to writing. Seriously, I cannot write anymore; (I've been using a computer for too many years now). I only print and that is more like a scrawl. I have sometimes taken down a note and then later not been able to read my own writing (printing). If someone were to ask me to write (not print) all the letters of the alphabet, both in capitals and small letters, I know I would not be able to do them all. Not that I don't know the alphabet, but I've forgotten the written shapes of some of them.You know, this is a sad thing, seriously. My son has the worst printing and cursive, what is that? We made him practice, we argued all the time. His response was always, "you guys, our teachers want it on the computer". He printing is legible, but o so tiny. And it's not just my son, but most kids his age. The last time he had a spelling test was in 2nd grade. I wish I were kidding. During the summer, I gave him spelling tests which I know made a big difference, but still, unless writing is of interest to the child these days, this is a skill that is sorely lacking.
I enjoy your article.I'am not that old but I love to use my brain when it comes to math.Never used the computer at school for that and I want to see how people will live without computers.Imean some of them are like addicted to it.Thanks for reading and commenting, Daniel.And good for you; I'm glad you work out math in your head, rather than a calculator. I mean, calculators are convenient and I find myself using them just because of that. But if you know how to do the math in your head, I think you'll find that you will be further ahead than those who have to rely on the calculator or computer.
Great article. Well done.I can only see things getting more and more technological. At least they are trying to bring out easier user friendly - so they say - machines.Hi Connor,I think technology is great; it sure does seem to make some aspects of our lives a lot easier. I guess what kind of bothers me is that we use this technology, but how many of us actually know how it works. And what happens one day if it all starts to break down?Have you ever read the short story called "The Machine Stops"? Look it up on Google. It was required reading when I was in school and it's really quite interesting.
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